


In the Shire Reckoning: Aftermath

by Thuri



Category: Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-11-26
Updated: 2003-11-26
Packaged: 2017-11-08 07:39:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/440814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thuri/pseuds/Thuri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the quest, life is different</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Shire Reckoning: Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [](http://sunhawkaerie.livejournal.com/profile)[**sunhawkaerie**](http://sunhawkaerie.livejournal.com/) for the beta. Birthday mathom for [](http://kiltsandlollies.livejournal.com/profile)[**kiltsandlollies**](http://kiltsandlollies.livejournal.com/) Her request was: _Billy/Dom (or, alright, M &P if you'd prefer), and SILENCE. No talking. :-) *hearts*_. A piece I actually wrote sometime ago, that was perfect for this. Was inspiried by Kiltie's writing, so it still counts! And looky, I brought the angst!

It wasn't supposed to be this way. He knew that, knew it more deeply than he'd ever known anything before in his life. He'd soaked up stories and devoured tales since he was old enough to understand, had read more when he'd learned his letters. And he knew this wasn't how the tale ended. They'd won. Won against all odds, against all fears. He was still alive, still mostly in one piece. The heros in tales rode off and lived happily ever after. They didn't wake screaming in the night and lay shaking until dawn, afraid to close their eyes. They didn't have to watch their friends move like wraiths through their days, never really seeing what was before them. They didn't have regrets. So why did he?

~~

Meriadoc Brandybuck, heir of the Master of Buckland, rider of the Mark, Master Holdwine of the Rohirrim, friend of the King of Gondor and Anor, laid his head back against the pillows and wept. Wept for the days of old. Wept for the lad he'd been. Wept for everything he'd lost. He didn't bother trying to stem the tide of his tears. He knew from experience they wouldn't stop just because he wanted them to. _'I don't know how much longer I can live like this,'_ he thought, sobs tearing from his throat. _'I don't know how much more of this I can take.'_

Finally, as they always did, the tears subsided and he slipped back into uneasy dreams, plagued by both fire and ice.

~~

Peregrin Took, heir of the Thain and Took, knight of Minas Tirith, friend of the King of Gondor and Anor, threw down his fork with a muttered oath. He stared at the plate of mushrooms in front of him with a look of disgust. He should want them, he knew. Should be happy to eat as many as he could hold. Should be gobbling them down before Merry got up and stole his share. But they turned to ash in his mouth. He pushed the plate away, untouched. _'It isn't fair,'_ he thought. _'Not fair at all.'_

He shoved his chair away from the table and left the hole, walking swiftly down to the creek, his mind many miles away.

~~

They never spoke of it. Any of it. Neither had told the other of what they'd been through, of what had happened in those hellish days they'd been apart from each other. Only three weeks all together. Hardly any time in the many years they'd spent together. But in those twenty three days, they'd experienced so much. Too much to tell each other. So Pippin soothed Merry's night fears and Merry put up with Pippin's odd tastes, both without a word. Neither wanted to be the one who started the flood of remembrance, the flood of words that, like Merry's tears, couldn't be stemmed until spent. And while Merry could survive his nightmares and laugh in the day, he knew Pippin's pain would be too much for him. And while Pippin managed to avoid the foods that turned to dust in his mouth, he knew Merry's pain was a thing he couldn't ignore.

They comforted each other soundlessly, fearing the words they dared not say more than the silence that consumed them.


End file.
